Colds and Kisses
by Thebeatbopmachine
Summary: The adventures of Russel and Del taking care of a very sick Noodle (set in phase 1, RussxDel)
1. Chapter 1

Covers were frantically shoved off the bed by the very large giant inhabiting it as he heard a tiny cry from across the hall. His alarm clock flashed 5 AM as he quickly wrapped a robe around him and ran out the door. The Hallway was dark with only the glow of the faint sunrise seeping through the large windows to guide him through the creepy corridor. He quickly followed the sound of very miserable and raspy cries. Finally reaching a door that read ヌードル (Noodle), he gently knocked and before he knew it the door opened and the tiny girl stood before him with a messy mop of hair and wrapped in thick blankets with a stuffed monkey tucked tightly in her arms.

"Russel!" she cried out, her voice very hoarse and dry. Her sickly pale face lit up as she lifted her arms eagerly up to him.

"Shhh, baby girl, don't want to wake up the dead, do you?" He chuckled as he gently picked the girl up, his milky white eyes observing her. She was very shaky, as if she might be cold but all the blankets wrapped around her might've suggested otherwise.

Taking her over to her small, messy bed, Noodle held on to her best friend tightly and whimpered into his shoulder. He grabbed a chair nearby and sat next to the bed and attempted to pry the 10-year-old off himself,

"C'mon Noods, let's get you settled in first, then I'll take your temperature, a'ight?" Noodle's whimpers quickly turned into sobs as she held onto his robe for dear life, dropping her stuffed monkey in the process. She felt much better just being in the giant's arms, she hated being stuck in bed when she was sick. When Russel finally pried the girl off (thanks to his incredible strength), he tucked her in and got up to look for the thermometer. The heavy man suddenly froze in place as he felt heavy vibrations run up his spine and into the back of his head; his mind blanked out for a good minute as a light blue mist emerged from his ear and formed a figure familiar to both of them.

"Del Kon'nichiwa!" Noodle greeted, smiling as light tears still rolled down her cheeks. Del looked up and smiled back,"Hey, little sweet pea" he replied, trying to hide his growing headache. Turning to Russ, he moaned as he squeezed his head in agony. "Damn Russ, this is the fifth night you've been up and about, I don't know how long I can keep up with you, I haven't gotten a good night's rest in days!" Del protested quietly to Russel.

Russel sighed, "I know, I know I haven't gotten any sleep either man, but I just don't know what to do, the sista's been like this for weeks now and it doesn't look like she's getting any better, I-" Russel paused for a moment, biting his lip. "I'm worried, man. What if it gets worse, what if-?" Russel couldn't bear to speak, just the thought if anything happened to Noodle made his heart ache.

Del sighed and looked over at the girl in bed; she was lying down on her pillow with her eyes barley open, attempting to focus on her breathing. She looked incredibly exhausted as she, too, hasn't gotten any sleep for weeks, which is definitely not healthy for a growing 10-year-old girl. Every time the poor thing tried to shut her eyes just for a minute of rest, her tiny body would shake, she would have an uncontrollable cough fit with beads of sweat rolling down her face. Her tummy ached and her head throbbed with a terrible headache every minute, she just felt so uncomfortable whenever she tried to relax and breathe.

Del looked back at Russel and offered him a reassuring smile. "Man, that girl can kick the asses of ten-foot gorilla zombies, that girl knows karate like the back of her hand, hell she's the only one here that asshole Murdoc has any respect for. And you're telling me a little cold's gonna bring her down? C'mon." He chuckled, elbowing Russel in the shoulder.

"Heh, yeah I guess you're right," Russ hesitated a little, "but I have a bad feeling we're dealing with more than just a little cold."

The drummer then turned away to look for the thermometer, while Del grabbed a small bucket by Noodle's bed and a dry wash cloth, "I'm gonna go fill this up with cold water." He said before he left the room. Russel grunted as an answer as he picked up the thermometer and walked over to Noodle.

"Hey baby girl. How's your head feel?" he said soothingly, the little guitarist looked up at him and gave a faint smile, "Daijōbu Russel-san, better." She gargled, her voice was so weak it was barely audible, a minute before she was yelling at him in excitement, now she couldn't even speak.

"Shhh, best if you save your strength" He whispered as he put his hand over her forehead. It felt very warm, "can't be good." He mumbled as he let Noodle put the thermometer in her mouth. Russel sat by her side, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. He glanced at the Hello Kitty alarm clock by the girl's bed, it flashed 7:30. "Damn, has it already been two hours?" he grumbled to himself, wishing he could be in his own bed.

Del returned with the bucket full of water and the washcloth wet. "Hey there, Sweet pea" he cooed at her as he gently wiped her forehead. "Lemme see a smile." Noodle giggled and a big grin spread across her face. She seemed to have gained more color in her face, which was a good sign. After about five minutes, Russel took out the thermometer and squinted his white eyes to read it, as Del kept dabbing Noodles forehead with the cold washcloth, she suddenly began to whimper.

"Shhh, sweetie it'll be alright." Del insisted. He absolutely hated to see her upset and in pain. "Oh Jesus," Russel let out a sound of concern, "Del come look at this."

Del swooped over to Russel's side as he showed the phantom the thermometer. "Oh, god" It read 104°F, this was not good. Russel looked up at his ghostly friend with pain in his pupil less eyes.

"I'm gonna have to call the Doctor, later today."


	2. Chapter 2

Del shifted his cloudy, tired eyes at the clock once again, reading 9:02. He blinked and looked down at the sick little guitarist wrapped in blankets. It had already been an hour and the poor girl still hasn't stopped crying. Russel went down to the kitchen to see if there was any medicine that could help Noodle's stomach ache as well as her headache. Del sighed as he rubbed the little girl's back in small circles. His oversized white t shirt he borrowed from Russel was now soaked in tears and snot. He did just about everything he could for her: rock her back and forth, sing to her, dab her fevered head with a cold wash cloth, tried getting her to eat, etc. and nothing has gotten any better since earlier. He loved the little girl just as much as Russel did, but he was just so tired he was about to give up.

"C'mon Noods, you can fight this. When ever has a little tummy ache made you cry?" Del wearied to the girl, trying to sound comforting but also showing a little frustration. Noodle's puffy green eyes looked up at the ghost rapper, the misery on her face as plain as day.

"W-Warui itai! Hurts bad, everywhere!" she whined, letting out another wail as she felt a sudden jolt hit her aching head. Del frowned, deciding he can't take this anymore, picked up the bawling child and headed out the door, "A'ight, let's go find Russel, maybe he can calm ya down."

-In the Kitchen-

Russel sorted through all the different medicines in the cabinet, seeing if there was any that could help Noodle. So far, nothing but painkillers that mostly belonged to 2D, cough syrup way past the expiration date, and 'Dongzilla' pills he assumed belonged to Murdoc. Russel groaned in frustration, as the past few weeks, he, as well as the rest of the band, had no time to practice for upcoming gigs, important gigs that hopefully Noodle will recover in time for, and no personal time for himself. Noodle was always his top priority and that sometimes can take the life out of him. He loved the girl with all his heart, she was the daughter he never had, but she was still a child and taking care of her was a lot of work. Sometimes, deep down, he longed for the days when Paula was still in the band, and everyone could act like adults, everyone looked after themselves.

Russel shook his thoughts and decided it'd be best to make her some soup instead, it was about breakfast time anyway and about time the rest of the band should be getting up. After grabbing a can of generic tomato soup and a pot, he heard faint crying from the hallway. He sighed, knowing that cry anywhere. Del entered the kitchen with Noodle in his arms, clutched to his chest and sobbing; Russel glanced over his shoulder, slightly snickering at the clearly desperate ghost rapper.

"Russ, I'm dying here, man. Nothing will please her." Del said in a very zombie-like tone. Russel let out a heartfull laugh as he took the girl out of the phantoms transparent arms and rested her head on his shoulder and gently rubbed her head while lightly rocking his body. The girl's wailing soon turned into nothing but quiet whimpers. Del let out a heavy sigh of relief as he cherished the moment of silence.

"Man, you just gotta know how to hold 'em." Russel chuckled as he sat down and cradled the girl for a minute. Del stretched out and yawned before flopping himself onto one of the chairs. "So, find anything that can help her?" he asked, praying that poor girl gets better soon for the sake of her health and his sanity. "Nah" Russ replied with his white eyes still focused on the girl. "Nothin' in there but Dents' medication and Mudz 'Dongzilla pills'," he mumbled with a smirk on his face. Del cracked a smile, "You're joking." Russel looked up and laughed, "Why are you even surprised? I heard one of the women he brought over call him 'little bit'" the two men laughed freely for a good minute. Russel kept his smile on his face, enjoying a little time with Del that didn't concern Noodle.

"Oi! What are you lot laughing about?" a familiar groggy voice barked as he entered the room. "Morning Mudz," Russel greeted blandly, setting Noodle down in a chair as he got up. Murdoc sat down and lit a cigarette and puffing out streams of smoke. Noodle sniffed as she looked up at the beastly man.

"Ohayō, Madoc-san," she sputtered at the Satanist as best as she could. Murdoc parted the cigarette from his lips and smirked at the guitarist. "Well, well, looked who decided to grace us with her presence today." He grinned, showing his awfully grody teeth. Del looked at the bassist wearily as he reached for the newspaper. "Man, at least she has an excuse. The poor baby's been coughing and wheezing all over the place." He got up to brew some tea. "You always locked away in that Winnebago of yours and you're just a greasy old bastard."

Murdoc rolled his eyes, "Oh sod off. I'm a busy man." he replied, putting the cigarette between his lips. "Oh shit, that reminds me." Russel blurted out while pouring Noodle some soup. "I gotta call the doctor." He handed Noodle the soup and went to the phone hanging on the wall. Noodle sighed as she looked at the bland meal. Her poor stomach just wasn't feeling it, but she appreciated her best friend's effort, so she slowly took tiny spoonfuls, coughing every time she did.

After a minute passed, a certain blue-haired singer dragged himself into the kitchen and yawned, shirtless with only a pair of ripped up jeans on. "Mornin'" he uttered while he stumbled over to the fridge. Noodle looked up and smiled, "Ohayō 2D." the singer shook his sleepy head before he grabbed the milk from the fridge and drank straight from the carton, leaving him a milk mustache on his top lip. The small girl giggled at the tall man before returning to her soup, determined to finish it.

2D snuck behind the guitarist and planted a kiss on the top of her head, "hey little luv, good ta see ya out of your room." He said, patting her head. Noodle looked up again and let out a little giggle-snort. 2D was like her silly older brother, he always could make her laugh.

"Yeah, a very high fever," Russel explained over the phone, "Also heavy coughing, she seems to get chills every now and then, she tells me it's hard for her to breathe at night, also gets constant aches in the stomach and head." He continued, "Yeah? Four o' clock tomorrow, perfect. Okay thank you. Bye." He hung up the phone and sighed, sinking into a chair. "A'ight, got that straightened out." He glanced over at Del who was finishing up his tea.

"Hey man, what'd ya say we go take a nap?" Russel offered, looking incredibly drained. Del perked up, "You read my mind, man."

Del evaporated back into Russel's ear before he stretched and let out a yawn. He turned to 2D's direction before leaving, "Hey Dents, mind doing me a favor?" 2D shook his head. "Shoot." Russel let out another yawn before answering, "Can you run Noodle's bath and make sure she's ready by three? We got an interview today for Spin Magazine." 2D nodded and before he knew it, Russel was out of the room. The tall man focused on the tiny girl as she set her empty bowl in the sink.

"Alrighty luv, we bet'er get you all spiffy for today." He said as he grabbed the girl and lifted her up to his shoulder. "Now let's go run ya a nice hot bath." He chirped. Noodle clutched onto him and groaned as her headache began resurface.


	3. Chapter 3

Russel woke up from his nap to the sound of his radio playing Q-Tip's 'Vibrant Thing'. Finding the strength to lift up his head, he lazily clicked off his radio and fell back into a blissful state. His eyes were closed, but his thoughts still roamed his mind. He wondered what the doctor would say about Noodle tomorrow, he wondered what would happen with the upcoming gigs, if they would end up playing a terrible show due to the band's lack of practice, or if they would have to cancel if Noodle couldn't recover in time. He wondered, most importantly, if he was losing touch with his old friends, fellow musicians that were all his closest childhood companions, as well as Del, who helped him through his anxiety and depression in the past, and especially ever since his demon possession as a schoolboy that sent him into a four year coma, they've been by his side.

But after joining the Gorillaz a couple of year's back he began to lose touch with all of them. one of his mates, MF Doom, called him about a possible collaboration in the future, but that was it. Del was his last and only connection to his past. He sighed, he didn't dare think about his miserable life back in Brooklyn.

"_Yo Russ, your thinking too much again, just try to relax fo' a minute." _He could hear Del from inside his mind. He let out a heavy sigh. " 'm sorry man, I can't help it. 'm dealing with way too much right now." He mumbled, tensing up his body as he felt Del's vibrations run up and down his back.

"_Man, have you been taking your Xanax lately? It feels like you constantly hanging on edge, man just breathe. Ever'thing is gonna be fine." _Russel relaxed himself and tried to clear his mind. Breathing slowly, he listened to Del's soothing words inside his head. _"Just try to feel yourself lift off, you're light as a feather," _"light as a feather." The drummer echoed calmly, finding a sense of peace.

"_There are no worries, not a care in the world. No Gorillaz, no Brooklyn, no demons, no nothin', you're your own man Russel Hobbs, there is nothing but you." _ Russel breathed in and out gently through his nose, the serenity of the moment completely washing over him.

-In the bathroom-

"Alwight darlin', your bath's waitin' for ya" 2D called out to Noodle, who sat outside the bathroom in a fuzzy robe and her stuffed monkey in her arms. Her tiny body shaking once more as her head throbbed. She really didn't want to do an interview today, but on the other hand, it would be nice to be out of her room for awhile.

"Ōkē 2D, I come in." Noodle answered back, her voice much clearer than before. She stepped inside as 2D finished combing his hair. He was clean shavin' with a clean white t shirt, jeans, and his favorite Converse trainers on. Noodle sniffed and smiled at the pretty boy, all done up nicely.

"Okay remember Noods, you gotta be ready by free or Russ won't be happy, yeah? He'd really like to bring you along fo' vis intaview." Noodle nodded in response, "Hai!"

After 2D left the room and locked the door, Noodle set down her plush monkey, took off her robe and hopped into the warm water, making a rather large splash. Sighing in relaxation, Noodle sank down until the back of her head was underwater, soothing her pounding headache. Noodle had to admit, she felt much better than before. She stopped shaking for a bit, no coughing fits in the past hour, didn't feel like she had any fever like she did this morning, stomachaches and headaches, while still there, didn't seem to be as frequent as before. The little guitarist smiled in comfort believing that she might actually be getting better. She may end up fully recovering by tomorrow morning; heck she may not even need to go to her doctor's appointment. Noodle was all giddy by the thought of it. If that were the case, then she could finally practice some heavy guitar riffs for the upcoming gigs she's been looking forward to. She closes her eyes and relaxed, finally having a chance to breathe.

-In the Lobby-

After about an hour of getting ready, Russel walked into the lobby with an oversized jersey, baggy jeans, tennis shoes, and a baseball cap on. He saw 2D sitting on the couch watching the widescreen TV on the wall and Murdoc, in his usual grey sweater, black trousers, and Cuban-heeled boots, tapping his foot impatiently and glancing at his watch.

"Damn it! It's 3:20, where the hell is Noodle?" He snapped at the large man in front of him. Russel turned his head to the dense singer. "Hey D, you said you'd have baby girl ready by three, where is she?" he grunted. 2D looked away from the telly and at the drummer, biting his lip. "She told me she'd be down any minute! I don' know why she's taking so long." He replied innocently. Russel groaned in frustration, not wanting to be late for the interview.

Just as the drummer was about to turn back and look for her, Noodle appeared in the elevator and stepped out in front of him. Her hair was incredibly frizzy under her radio helmet; she was dressed in her red button up shirt and shorts, just like in the Clint Eastwood video. She looked up at Russel and he looked back down at her with a stern look. The tiny girl seemed a bit dazed; her eyes looking dull with little sign of liveliness.

"I sorry late, Watashi wa no zutsū kara kizetsu." She explained in Japanese to the round man in front of her. He sighed and took her hand. "A'ight whatever, let's get a move on."

They all headed to the car park where the Geep was. Murdoc sat in the driver's seat while 2D hopped in next to him in the front. Russel sat in the back seat with Noodle, making sure to keep a close eye on her, and they were off.

Noodle's headache was back and kicking, but she was determined to resist the pain as much as she could. Yet, she found herself wanting to close her eyes, wanting to relax. She didn't feel sleepy, but there was this urge in her to close her eyes and turn off herself to her surroundings, she couldn't explain it, but she was slowly giving in to the urge.

Russ felt the tiny girl lean her head against his side; he looked down at her and patted her head, assuming the poor thing was very tired, as she hardly got any sleep this week. That is, until something seemed wrong. She wasn't breathing right, her breaths sounded raspy and uneven.

"Hey baby girl, are you okay?" Russel asked in a slightly worried tone. Noodle left him unanswered as her breathing became more rapid and desperate. 2D looked behind him, also becoming worried.

"Darling, is eve'yfing okay?" Noodle refused to answer, the urge was getting harder to resist. Her body started to shake again. "God I don't like the look of this." Russel said, beginning to panic. "Noodle look at me!" he cried out to her, hoping she could hear him. Her shaking suddenly stopped. Although still breathing rapidly, still no answer.

"Murdoc, stop tha car!" 2D screamed into the bassist's ear. He slammed on the brakes and drove off the highway into a nearby parking lot. "Wot's going on!?" he barked back at the singer. The blue-haired man did nothing but gesture to look in the back seat. Murdoc turned himself around to see Russel shaking a very unresponsive Noodle desperately in horror, the sight of it left Murdoc in shock.

"Noodle, for god's sake say something to me!" Russel shouted at her with mist in his eyes. Noodle focused her eyes on her friend, taking hard deep breaths. "A-anata o aishite…" was all she stammered out before slipping into unconsciousness.

"_Turn th…car around…now!...hospital…god….love you….baby girl….."_


	4. Chapter 4

"She simply fainted Mr. Hobbs, that's all," was what the nurse told Russel an hour after the band rushed the unconscious guitarist to the hospital. With all the anxiety and agitation he was going through, that very moment of terror sent Russel into a panic attack so forceful it ripped Del's spirit from his body, and he had to be escorted by a nurse to help him calm down before he could get a chance to see Noodle.

Now that his nerves were steady, Russel (assumed by the staff to be the girl's official caretaker) was discussing with the nurse about the guitarist's condition. "So, you're telling me she just needed some water?" he said to her in a bland tone.

"Well yes, medically speaking, she was very dehydrated and by the looks of the doctor's report, she had a very high fever." The nurse stated while looking down at her clipboard. Russel sighed; this day was nothing but hell for him. He just wanted to go home and lay in his room to weep his thoughts away, with only Del's remedying words to comfort him.

"Great, may I see her?" the nurse nodded and handed the drummer some papers to sign, then he followed her to Noodle's hospital room. "Now the doctor told me that he would like to run a few tests with her in a half an hour and then she's free to go." The nurse added before leaving him to the sick girl. Russ peaked inside the room to see Noodle sitting up in her bed comfortably with a food tray on her lap, eating a banana while reading a magazine.

"Hey baby girl, how are you feelin'?" he sounded to her in a hushed tone. The girl looked up at the man and squealed in delight. "Otōsan!" she chirped with a mouthful of banana. She sure looked better than before. Her joyful spirit had returned and her voice was clear as crystal. Russel spread a big grin on his face, he couldn't help it she was so adorable, and swooped by her side to tickle her. After a huge fit of giggling and yelling, Russ let the smiling child have a moment to catch her breath before he wrapped his arms around her and planted a small kiss on the cheek. Noodle giggled before wrapping her tiny arms around his neck to pull him into a hug.

"Russel?" she cooed at him after breaking away from his tight hug. "Yeah baby girl'?" the heavy man looked at the girl's vibrant green eyes. Noodle paused for a minute and smiled. "Anata o aishite."

Russel's soft smile faded into an indifferent look. He remembered the girl saying those words to him right before she slipped out of consciousness, and what Russel first thought would be her last words. The giant felt bad that he couldn't understand her most of the time. The guitarist put so much effort into trying to learn English for her friends, he really should put more time into learning some Japanese to at least take some ease off the poor thing. Luckily, Del knew a good amount of Japanese phrases, maybe he knew what 'Anata o aishite' meant. Speaking of which, where was he? Where was 2D and Murdoc for that matter? Russel bit his lip nervously, wondering if Del was okay.

"Uh, hey Noods?" The 10-year-old looked at him with a bit of concern. "Hai?" "Have you seen the otha guys around?" Noodle nodded. "Waiting room," Russel exhaled as he got to his feet and patted the girl's head. "A'ight, I'll be back baby girl." And with that, he kissed her cheek once more before leaving the room.

-In waiting room-

Del sat there with droopy eyes hanging off his pale blue face. Russel's panic attack really gave him a scare, so badly that he had to evacuate himself from the man's body, or else the shock could end up sending him back to the spirit realm, send him straight into the Grim Reaper's hands. He shuddered, holding Russel's jacket around him tightly. He'd been avoiding the reaper for quite some time now; it was only a matter of time before death would find him and tear him from his best friend's body. The thought only made him sick.

Trying to get away from his thoughts he looked over at the men next to him. 2D being heavily engrossed in the magazine he was reading about one of his favorite bands, and Murdoc was slumped in his chair sleeping and snoring loudly. Just as Del was about to turn back to his thoughts…

"Del!" a familiar voice filling up his empty state. He looked up to see his best friend in front of him, looking a bit pained. Del got up and hugged him, embracing his clearly troubled friend. "Del, I-I'm so-" before he could say anything, Del put a finger over his lips and shushed him. The blue phantom looked down to see 2D still absorbed in his magazine and Murdoc still sleeping before he pulled Russel out of the waiting room and into a hallway, away from any watchful eyes. The spirit's eyes and bit his lip. Russel felt guilt rising up from his throat.

"Del, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, man." he blurted out. "I couldn't keep calm! I thought Noodle actually died in my arms, a-and I could'a lost you too! Could'a sent you to the reaper, man. I-I jus-" Russel let tears roll down his face as he embraced Del in another hug.

"Russ, my brotha', I'm fine, everything's fine. The reaper ain't gonna get me, no way no how." He assured. "It wasn't yo' fault, man." Del took off the jacket he had around him and wrapped it around Russel. "Fo' a split second there, I thought I lost baby girl, too." Russ looked away from the ghost as more tears ran down his face. He couldn't bear to have his best friend see him like this. Del put his hand on Russel's chin and forced him to turn his head and look in the ghost's eyes.

"You listen to me Russel Hobbs, you a strong man. The shit you've been through in the past is enough to kill a man twice. And yet you still here, in a very successful band, with band mates that look up to you, and a very beautiful little girl who is lucky to call you her father! Not a greater honor could be bestowed on a man." Russel sniffed and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

"I'd do anything for that girl, I love her so much." He murmured. "She reminds me of my little sister back home." Russel sighed, realizing he didn't want to delve back into his past.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Del sighed, patting the heavy man's shoulder. Russel sniffed and smiled, thinking back to what Noodle said to him before; it reminded him of what he wanted to ask.

"Hey Del?" he piped up.

"Hmm?"

"You know a lot of Japanese, right?"

Del smirked. "Damn right, took three years of it in High School." He conceded. Russ chuckled softly. "Well, right before Noodle passed out, she told me something in Japanese and I had no idea what it meant."

Del raised a thick eyebrow. "Well do you even remember what she said?"

"Yeah, 'cus she said it to me again. It was something like 'ant ata o ash shit ay' or something like that." He laughed. Del snickered at him. "Man, you thinking of 'anata o aishite?'" Russel nodded fiercely. "Yeah man! What's that mean?"

Del smiled at him, "It means 'love you.' As in she was telling you that she loved you, man." Russ slightly bit his lip and beamed. His heart ached a bit at the sincerity of Del's words.

"Hey, let's go see how the lil' sweet pea's doin'," Del suggested, elbowing Russel's gut. "She looked good as gold the last time I popped in."

"I know, right? That girl got nerves of steel." Russel stated proudly, his white eyes glowing. They walked down to her room together, only to find a doctor scribbling down notes on his clipboard by Noodles side. Noodle directed her attention to the two men. "Kon'nichiwa Russel, Del." She smiled at them. The doctor looked up from his notes to the large man.

"Oh Mr. Hobbs, just in time." He quickly wrote something down before continuing. "Well, as I assume the nurse informed you, I ran some tests with your daughter. Took a blood sample, gave her a simple breathing exercise, and looking at all of her symptoms; heavy coughing, troubled breathing, stuffy nose, dry throat, frequent aches in the body, etc. I'd say my final diagnosis is that she has a small case of bacterial Pneumonia."

Russel frowned. What he suspected was right, it was much worse than a cold. "Pneumonia?" His lip quivered. "Yes, Mr. Hobbs, but luckily we caught it in the early stages. It's entirely treatable and with some of my prescriptions to her, she should be as right as rain." The doctor reassured. Russel nodded as the man in the white coat handed him the list of prescription meds.

"Well, your daughter looks to be in good shape at the moment, so we're not requiring her to stay overnight, she is welcome to go home."

Russel thanked the doctor as Del took Noodle's hand after she hopped off of the bed. After collecting Murdoc and 2D, all five of them were in the Geep headed back home. Noodle sat in the back seat between Russel and Del, while steadily trying to keep herself awake.

"The poor fing's go' a case of Pneumonia, huh?" 2D voiced his concern from the front seat. Del nodded. "Yeah, but the doc says it's treatable. So she'll get better in no time." He said, ruffling the girl's hair. Noodle yawned and leaned on Russel's side. The drummer looked down and sighed. Realizing it is late in the day, and anticipated a number of messages will be left on their phone from Spin Magazine wondering why they never showed up.

"Well, at least we can get back to business, right Russ?" Murdoc brayed at the drummer. "Not yet Muds, we still gotta make sure Noods recovers in time fo' the upcoming gigs, ya hear me?" Russel answered as he himself was getting drowsy.

Del looked upon the sun that was setting in the distance; it had been a long and painful day for all of them. Sighing in relaxation, he wondered what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

UPDATE: here's some translated Japanese phrases so far (just off of Google translate):

Kon'nichiwa! = Hello!

Daijōbu = Alright

Warui itai! = Hurts bad!

Ohayō = Good Morning

Ōkē = Okay

Watashi wa no zutsū kara kizetsu = I fainted from my headache

Otōsan! = Daddy!

Anata o aishite = Love you


End file.
